how any thread about Interpol just starts off arguments about how good/bad Antics and/or Our Love to Admire were (e.g. 'it can't be worse than their last record. Ho ho!'. But the first reply has kind of done the joke for me.

I should be very excited about this release - Interpol were a band I'd pin my colours to at some point in the not so distant past. I don't even find OLTA that bad but something about them is just so posing and embarrassing these days.

They try to be cool now whereas when they released TOTBL in 2002 they simply were one of the coolest bands around. What the hell happened?

Still, Pitchfork retain a strong love for them so I guess it's alight.

what you're getting at. It's not like they've been over exposed or desperately fame hungry. Their last album didn't quite live up to the first two but I don't really grasp what they've done to lose their 'cool.'

How do they 'try to be cool' these days? How are they 'posing and embarrassing' now? I don't see that they've changed for anyone or tried to be anything other than what they've always been. Okay, so at first there was this massive intrigue/novelty about these new cool guys in suits making gloomy but uplifting music, and now nearly 10 years on that's not a novelty, obviously, but 'Lights' takes me right back to those magical early days - not because it sounds like anything off TOTBL but it conjures that vibe again for me. Hopefully, the album follows suit. And I think that new image, if it is the cover art, is alright myself.

...the band is far too exposed now. When I started listening to them barely anyone had heard of them and their album cover and art seemed equally mystifying and intriguing - that adds something special to band. Since then, they're all over the place lit up like Christmas trees and looking like a bunch of models in an Armani promotion - sure not to the extent that you'll see them in the top ten anytime soon but within the indie hemisphere they're very well known. That will matter to me because the image of the band impacts on how can I feel about them and how in turn, I will feel a strong connection to their music.

On top of this, I have seen them live twice, and although they do a tight set, they just come across as a bunch of twats who don't really want to share the same space as the people who buy their records.

But still, I stand by my original comment - they don't seem that 'cool' to me any more. At one time I would have been vehemently defended them but the sparkle has gone for me now and I know I'm not the only one who feels it too. I really hope that the coming album re-ignites my interest in this band - honestly - but I doubt it will.

that their new album news/tour news is picked up by a lot of sites, including NME or whoever (and I'd expect that as part of most bands' pre-album/tour publicity, particularly as it's 3 years since the last album), I never hear about Interpol anywhere... 'they're all over the place...' - where? I haven't seen them on Jools Holland, on Virgin Media behind-the-scenes exclusives a la Kasabian, they're never in NME etc etc. So you've heard 'Slow Hands' on 1 advert? - big deal. It was kinda tastefully done and I assume that the cash they got paid went towards recordings etc. If you want them to continue releasing records, a band needs a 'pay day' every now and then.
When I saw them live at Birmingham Academy on the OLTA tour they were ultra-cool and played an outstanding set. So they weren't bantering with the crowd? They don't need to. That's not their style - get used to it. They still captivated the whole audience.

that only illustrates that 2 people can be at the same gig and have a completely different experience. It doesn't mean that either of us is right and the other wrong. Reading my post back, I was wrong to say "captivated the whole audience" - stupid sweeping statement - although the general audience reception seemed positive to me. It was the first time my mate and I had seen them and we were both blown away. That's all I can say.

if you like the music great, if you dont, fine, but why this angst over whether they are more or less 'cool' than they were before. i personally didn't listen to their last album as i heard a few singles and didnt want to ruin the love that i had for them during TOTBL and Antics. I'm therefore not quite sure what to expect from this latest release, but whether or not they are still cool enough for the indie brigade is the last thing i'm thinking. why judge music on whether or not you'd be willing to admit liking it to your peers rather on the emotive reaction or lack thereof that it potentially creates?

A refusal to accept that music is more than just music is rather narrow minded. The stuff people listen to forms part of their identity and they attach themselves to it (like may other things in fact). A band must be able to engineer an image and present a zeitgeist/ some informal statement, (or at least be involved in one) if they are going to have an impressive "pay day" as it was so eloquently put and more besides.

Great music - no matter how creative or interesting it might be - does not necessarily sell (and I use that word in a broad sense) nor capture the imagination but when it comes with a band/ artist that has either intentionally or unintentionally generated a feeling or 'quality' about them which the listener personally attaches themselves to, it will stick in a big way.

I agree with everything you say here. Image does matter in terms of capturing the imagination/interest of punters, no matter how much people like to think it doesn't. But I don't think Interpol have really changed that much/at all image-wise since the 'magical' early days. When I go to see them in November, I'll hazard a bet that Kessler's still wearing a full suit onstage, that Banks still has that icy, aloof demeanour etc etc.

after hearing lights. Saw them towards the end of the OLTA tour and they played about 2 songs from the album which to me proved their acknowledgment of how poor that album is in comparison to previous efforts. Not sure they can exist without Carlos, I'll still buy it though.

not sure they can exist without Carlos? Well, it's not like losing Paul Banks, is it? As far as I can tell Carlos may have written basslines on the first 2 albums, possibly not on the 3rd so I hear(?) and pottered about on some keyboards. Apart from looking aloof and going from a 'vamp' to a 'distinguished gentleman' style-wise, I'm not sure how crucial you can claim he is to the very existence of Interpol. It's a bit like saying U2 would be lost without Adam Clayton... They wouldn't.

Carlos wrote the basslines on the first 2 albums and possibly not on their 3rd which is precicely the time they began to lose track of quality songwriting. I think Interpols sound relies heavily on his melodic basslines to keep it interesting hence the Julian Plenti album being a bit bleugh.

Carlos has never as such written the basslines on any interpol record entirely. Daniel Kessler the lead guitarist and founding member usually writes the melody and bassline and goes to the band to develop the idea. No doubt Carlos had his own aesthetic and style of playing that made his own. Carlos on all the records including the new one was more involved with the application side of things... Keyboards, layering, orchestral elements, vox. He left due to growing tension caused by his controlling protective nature of this part of the creative process which other band members did not agree with. Daniel Kessler is the main creative input behind interpol.

I have no doubts that this is pretty accurate - I've read interviews with Daniel Kessler before that revealed that he writes a lot of the initial song structures etc. Do you have a direct reliable source just so we can nail this one for good? I reiterate to any doubters: there's 3 other talented guys in Interpol so the fate and future quality of the band's output does not lie in the bassist's departure.

but that's not to say he won't be sorely missed. For me he was the character of the band, and certainly provided a lot of the interest when the played live. Watching them on Lettermen its clear they are going to be a very dull live band from now on, even if the songs don't change that much.

Interpol have made (by general consensus) one 24ct classic, one fucking great album and a good one. They have yet to make a "bloated piece of garbage" thus far in their career and so, if this was to be one, it would be the first and hence somewhat of a surprise and a huge disappointment.
You're welcome.

But I been low key
Hated on by most these scenesters
Wit no holsters, no fringes and no p's, no straps and no tweed
No waistcoats, no greyhounds and no fees
Mad at me cause I can finally afford to make music for movies
Got a crib wit a studio and it's all full of soundtracks
For arty films in white and black
Hung up on 'Pol, good luck tryna replace me

Great comment, thanks dude.
To everyone else - I'm just going to wait for the album.
Can't recall being blown away by anyone on a TV show.
Not the same experience if you're not actually there is it?
Pajo looked and sounded the business to me, enjoyed Curtis's backing vocals so it's all good to me. There must be other bands you can get your dandyish, waistcoat-wearing fix from?

this is coming from somebody who thinks 'Antics' is one of the most horribly disappointing albums ever made, so probably best take with a pinch of salt. Layered but not overly grandiose, Banks' voice sensibly buried in the mix for once.